Be Wary of “Check the Box” Features

Recently I was at Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Palmetto Dunes is like a small village on the island with multiple golf courses, resorts, neighborhoods, etc. The core part of the area has a well-known tennis facility with over 20 tennis courts and several quality golf courses. What stuck out to me is that as part of the massive tennis facility and expensive golf course there was a tiny, 80s-era pool. It was clearly a “check the box” pool for the purpose of checking a box on different travel websites and marketing brochures. I’m guessing they don’t expect too many people to use the pool since the resorts and condo complexes have their own nice pools but it was still jarring to see it tucked away on the side near some infrequently used tennis courts.

The same “check the box” feature creep applies to software.

As an entrepreneur and product manager it is critical have a clear, consistent product vision and be extremely opinionated about what does and doesn’t make it into the product. When you start adding features to “check the box” it becomes abundantly clear to users and slows down future development with code debt. The next time to you go to implement a new feature that a competitor has or RFP requests, ask yourself the “check the box” question.

What else? Have you seen “check the box” features in products?